Fethiye

Decided to skip out on the East coast of Turkey and head straight down South for some sun and beach.

We took an overnight bus all the way from Istanbul to Fethiye, apparently about an 13 hour journey, but it took us more like 18 from door to door.

Checked into a really nice hostel with a pool and bar, some good people and a really good Turkish chef who cooked up barbeques most nights.

One of the first days we took a Dolmus (Minivans that are basically the only way to get around, cheap, not entirely reliable but always pretty funny) out to Saklikent Gorge with a couple of guys we met at the hostel.

It is basically a long, narrow gorge that you can walk through as far as you're keen to go. As you get further, the terrain gets a little more sketchy; water up to your armpits, slippery, muddy boulders to pull yourself up over, very muddy, but really fun.

Shelley and Ange loving the mud.



Patrick loving the mud.


Very photogenic place.

One of the shallower pools. It was really hard to tell where the bottom was, because the water was so murky. We would be wading along and then step into a massive hole and fall in up to you neck.

Me on the return journey. Couldn't take a lot of photos of the sketchier parts because I was worried about the camera, so we balled it up in plastic bags.


Another day we hopped on the Dolmus and headed over the the famous Blue Lagoon, or Oludiniz. Basically a long stretch of sandy beach that runs up to a broken point, with a little lagoon behind the beach.

Angie at Oludiniz

Part of the Blue Lagoon. Spent a real lazy day here just reading and swimming and watching the masses of British tourists that hang out here.


Grand Final Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We spent the day before the the game asking every bar in town if they would be playing the game. All of them tried to help us but didn't have it on their system. Not surprisingly.
We had all but given up and were preparing to watch it over skype with Corey and Em, when Shelley got up at 6am (Thanks heaps) to tell us that some Aussies had checked in last night and had found the game on somewhere in town.

Sure enough a shadowy figure emerged from one of the rooms in the hostel at about 6.10. As he came into the light we were shocked to see it was the same dude we had watched the prelims with in Istanbul 2 weeks earlier!!!


Preparing to watch the game on skype.

Ronnie is a Scottish expat living in Turkey who owns an Irish pub. He opened the bar for a group of 5 of us at 6am, illegally, and sat and watched the game with us and sold us beer. He said he understood how we felt, it was just like a Celtic vs Rangers game and it was his pleasure to open up. Best guy ever.

Ronnies pub. Matt, Ang and Jim

Ronnie, Me and a whole lot of Cats fans about to be bitterly disappointed, hahahahaha!

I had the best day ever, was drunk by 8am, and hungover by about 5pm. What a super win!!!!!
GO HAWKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angie was very gracious in defeat and let me have a good day. Thanks again Ronnie.


Went out to Kaya Koya, or the Ghost Town. It was basically an old abandoned village that has been left intact.

A turtle we saw wandering around at Kaya Koya.

View of Kaya Koya from the top of the hill.


One night we went into town to go for dinner at the fish market. The idea is that you buy your fish and seafood at the market, then take it into any of the restaurants that surround the market and they cook it all up for you with salad for 5 bucks! Had a huge feast and a few Raki for a very reasonable price.

The Fish Market, we had no idea what we were buying or if we were being ripped off, but it was still pretty cheap, and really good.

Spice Market right near the Fish Market.


Next day we took a walk along the ridge that runs behind the bay for a look at Fethiye from above.

Angie overlooking the Marina

Along the way we walked past the Lycian Tombs. These are ancient tombs cut straight into the cliff face dotted all around Fethiye.


View from the balcony at the hostel where we had breakfast every morning.

After about a week in Fethiye and a great Hawks win, it was time to get on the boat and cruise the med for 4 days!!!!!